5: "THE BEAN" Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor. It is 33x66x42 feet, and weighs 110 tons. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed "The Bean" because of its bean-like shape.

6: Formerly known as The Sears Tower, the Skydeck offers spectacular views spanning up to four states, a one-stop Chicago experience full of interactive exhibits and The Ledge, a glass balcony experience extending four feet outside the 103rd floor of Willis Tower!

9: SHEDD AQUARIUM The John G. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in that opened on May 30, 1930. It contains over 25,000 fish, and was for some time the largest indoor aquarium in the world with 5,000,000 gallons of water.

13: WRIGLEY FIELD, which was built in 1914, is the second-oldest ballpark in the majors behind Boston's Fenway Park (1912). The bleachers and scoreboard were constructed in 1937 when the outfield area was renovated to provide improved and expanded seating...the original scoreboard remains intact. Lights were added in 1988.

15: navy pier | NAVY PIER is a 3,300-foot long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and city planner Daniel Burnham and his associates. Navy Pier was planned and built to serve as a mixed-purpose piece of public infrastructure. Its primary purpose was as a cargo facility for lake freighters, and warehouses were built up and down the Pier. However, the Pier was also designed to provide docking space for passenger excursion steamers, and in the pre-air conditioning era parts of the Pier, especially its outermost tip, were designed to serve as cool places for public gathering and entertainment. The Pier even had its own streetcar. Today, Navy Pier is Chicago's number one tourist attraction.

18: Our trip was amazing!! We rented a beautiful 2-story home in historic St. Charles, located about 45 miles outside of Chicago. The weather was perfect during this week. Most days were in the 70s and evenings were in the cool 60s. We had lots of GREAT EATS at places like Lambert's, Gino's East, and Ed Debevics. | SENIOR TRIP 2012